Somali militants threaten more attacks after bombs kill 30
Mon Apr 15, 2013 8:30am EDT
* Attack exposes fragile nature of security gains
* Militants waging guerrilla-style insurgency
* Somali government still dependent on African forces (Recasts with al
Shabaab threat, adds lawmaker)
By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar
MOGADISHU, April 15 (Reuters) - Somali militants linked to al Qaeda warned
on Monday of further attacks in the capital, a day after killing at least 30
people in a wave of coordinated bombings and shootings that exposed the
fragility of security gains in Mogadishu.
African peacekeeping troops blocked off streets and searched houses across
the city at dawn on Monday to flush out suspected members of the Islamist
militant group al Shabaab which claimed responsibility for the strikes.
But the rebels warned of further attacks and taunted the Mogadishu
government, which they brand a Western stooge, over its trouble securing the
city at a time the country struggles to emerge from more than two decades of
conflict and anarchy.
Although a military offensive under an African Union peacekeeping banner has
pushed al Shabaab from urban strongholds in central and southern Somalia,
the attacks reinforce concerns the militants remain a potent force.
"Yesterday's blasts eliminated the dreams of the puppet government. More
lethal attacks are coming," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's
spokesman for military operations, told Reuters by telephone.
At least one car bomb exploded and several suicide bombers blew themselves
up in front of Mogadishu's law courts on Sunday. Gunmen stormed the court
compound, spraying it with bullets. Two hours later, a car bomb was
detonated near the city's fortified airport.
The law courts were a symbolic target. Somalia's new government has made
reforming the judiciary a priority in its campaign to shake off the
country's "failed state" tag.
The scale of Sunday's attacks suggest the Islamist militants remain well
organised, enabling them to infiltrate the city from which they were driven
out two years ago and target vital installations with apparent ease.
Western and Somali officials voice concerns that the militants were seeking
to rebuild their strength in the capital.
"It will be almost impossible to eliminate al Shabaab," lawmaker Mohamed
Farah Jimale told Reuters. "They will regroup and continue bombing."
Britain, which has a large Somali population and has warned of threats to
its own security from Somalia-trained militants, had warned last week of an
imminent attack in Mogadishu, highlighting the international networks
involved.
Somalia's <
http://www.reuters.com/finance> finance minister said the attack
reinforced the government's call for more aid to pay and train its security
personnel as it seeks to rebuild the nation of 10 million people.
"It proves that we need the support of friendly countries to help us in
improving the security forces' capability in Mogadishu and other areas,"
Mohamud Hassan Suleiman told Reuters.
A more stable Somalia could help curb piracy, which has flourished in the
absence of an effective central government, and would soothe worries that
Somali Islamists could expand territory they control which could be used as
a training ground for militants who could strike elsewhere. (Additional
reporting by Edmund Blair; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Pravin Char)
Received on Mon Apr 15 2013 - 21:51:19 EDT
